Home FEATURES Osinbajo Regrets Lack Of Measures To Discipline Erring Judicial Officers

Osinbajo Regrets Lack Of Measures To Discipline Erring Judicial Officers

nigerian judges Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed regret that there has never been measure enunciated towards disciplining judicial officers that go foul of the profession.He emphasized that creating and maintaining efficient disciplinary structures and rules has remained what he called “a huge challenge.” Professor Osinbajo, who spoke at a dinner by the body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), in Lagos, said that self-regulation even among the SANs is non-existent. “There is no forum for calling out a bad egg.”Osinbajo, himself a SAN. Described the legal profession in Nigeria and the system of administration of justice as one of the oldest of the professions. “It has created reputations; it has created dynasties, enormous wealth and modest livelihoods for generations.”But its integrity, its credibility and relevance are gravely threatened and have been so for many years now. It appears that some of the greatest acts of malfeasance are perpetrated by those of us who are senior lawyers.”Professor Osinbajo stressed the need for a consensus on how to ensure that the legal system is revived to gain back its respect and reverence, and that it “is not destroyed in our own time. “It is a consensus that will be built only on sacrifice, sacrificing ethnic, and other parochial loyalties where the profession is threatened.”Enabling a system of discipline that truly neither fears friend nor foe.”The Vice President advocated moral reawakening as it is obvious that “almost all of us, and I speak also for myself, have taken advantage in one way or the other, of a system where there is no consequence for misbehaviour; so truly, as the scriptures say, “all have sinned.”He also called for a practical, clearheaded consensus thinking “on how to preserve our profession, and the prestige of our privileges and how to avoid the indictment of history. “It is our duty as professionals today, especially those of us of the inner bar, to ensure that our profession and the administration of justice system survives the assault on it by all manner of misconduct.” [myad]